Butler v. Suffolk County
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-10868
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Butler v. Suffolk County, Judge McMahon transferred Butler’s civil-rights action to the Eastern District of New York because the alleged events occurred there.
Keith Terrell Butler’s case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. The transferee court, rather than Judge McMahon’s court, would decide whether Butler could proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Butler v. Suffolk County, Keith Terrell Butler, who was incarcerated and representing himself, claimed that defendants violated his constitutional rights while he was detained at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.
The court said venue did not appear proper in the Southern District of New York because Butler did not allege that a defendant lived there or that substantial events occurred there. It also found that the alleged events, likely documents, and likely witnesses were in the Eastern District of New York.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the action transferred to the Eastern District of New York under the federal transfer statute and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. She also denied fee-free status for any appeal, and the transferee court was left to decide whether Butler could proceed without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Butler v. Suffolk County · No. 1:19-cv-10868
- Colleen McMahon
- Nov. 25, 2019
Background
Keith Terrell Butler brought a self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal civil-rights law, against Suffolk County and other defendants. He alleged excessive force, denial of access to courts, and inadequate and unsanitary prison conditions arising from his detention at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead, New York.
Venue and Transfer
Venue is the federal district where a case may properly be litigated. The court explained that federal law generally permits a civil action where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events occurred. The court stated that venue did not appear proper in the Southern District of New York because Butler did not allege that any defendant resided there or that a substantial part of the events occurred there.
The court further explained that, even if venue had been proper, 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) permits transfer for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It found transfer appropriate because the alleged events occurred at the Suffolk County facility in the Eastern District of New York and relevant documents and witnesses were likely located there. Considering the circumstances as a whole, the court concluded that the action should be transferred to the Eastern District of New York.
Order
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The order states that the transferee court would decide whether Butler could continue without paying filing fees, that a summons would not issue from the Southern District of New York, and that the order closed the case there. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide whether Butler’s constitutional claims had merit.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.